Chair-brace.



A. MARGHAND.

CHAIR BRAGE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 4, 1910.

Patented May 7, 1912.

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A. MARGHAND.

2 Mm 9T v0 7 flu Mm mm A m2 BIA PLANOGRAPH C UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXIS MARGHAND, 0F BRIDG-EPORT, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPH BOUSKA, OF BRIDG-EPORT, WASHINGTON.

CHAIR-BRACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 4, 1910.

Patented May *7, 1912.

Serial No. 575,456.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALnxIs MARCHAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Douglas, State of ashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chair-Braces; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to braces for chairs and other articles of furniture, the object be ing to provide a device of this class that will effectively hold the legs of chairs from working loose, novel means for attaching the device to the chair seat being provided, this means being adapted to engage the seat without the use of bolts, screws or other of the ordinary connectors now in use.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide a device ofthis class that will be adjustable so as to be applied to chairs of different sizes and styles and will be disposed close up against the under face of the chair seat so as to be inconspicuous.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a stool equipped with my invention. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the stool. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the seat clamp. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the stool equipped with a modified form of my invention. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the stool equipped with the modified form of the invention. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modified form of the clamp applied.

The device is especially designed for use in connection with chairs having the upper ends of their legs 10 fitting in sockets formed in the bottom face of the seat 11 and their rungs 12 fitting in sockets formed in the legs.

The brace comprising the subject matter of this invention consists of brace elements 13 of substantially V shape and having their terminals connected to the legs of the chair, the preferred manner of connecting the braces being to equip the legs with eyes 14 each formed from a single length of material looped upon itself to encircle the leg below the lowermost rung of the chair, the terminals thence being bent abruptly upon themselves at the closed end of the loop to form hooks 15 that are disposed side by side and engage the bent extremity of the adjacent brace leg. Any suitable means may be substituted for these eyes, depending mainly upon the construction or style of chair to which the brace is to be applied.

The seat clamps from which the braces are suspended are arranged on opposite sides of the seat and each comprises a fixed member 16 formed from a single strap of material having a substantially straight portion 17 engaging the edge of the seat, one terminal of this straight portion being bent at right angles to form a lip 18 which engages the top face of the seat and the opposite terminals of the straight portion being bent obliquely as shown at 19 and being adapted to extend below the bottom face of the seat. The obliquely bent portion 19 is provided adjacent its extremity with an opening 20 through which a rocking member 21 is inserted. The rocking member is formed from a single blank of material and consists of a curved portion 22, one extremity of which is adapted to bear against the bottom face of the seat and the opposite extremity of which is reduced and looped upon itself to form an eye 23, this eye being engaged through the opening in the fixed member. When the clamp is applied, a pull upon the eye of the rocking member will rock the free extremity thereof into tight engagement with the bottom face of the seat and thus anchor the clamp in position with out the use of bolts, screws or similar connectors.

For connecting the clamps to the brace elements, a bridge piece 24 is engaged transversely through the brace elements and terminally engages turnbuckles 25, these turnbuckles engaging with their free ends the eyes of the clamps. Any particular form of turnbuckle may be used in this connection, the preferable form being shown in the drawing and comprising a body 26 formed from a single strap of metal bent upon itself to form an oblong loop, an eye 27 swiveled upon one end of the body, and a threaded hook 28 mounted upon the opposite end of the body, a nut 29 being carried upon the threaded extremity of the hook within the body and engages with its sides the sides of the body so that the nut will be rotated upon the rotation of the body.

Upon the tightening of the turnbuckles the rocking members of the clamps will be impinged firmly against the bottom face of the chair seat and as shrinkage or other changes take place in the chair structure, the turnbuckles may be tightened so as to cause the brace elements to be drawn up closer against the bottom face of the seat and the rocking members of the clamps be embedded more firmly into the bottom face of the seat.

In Fig. 4 is shown a modified form of tension device, this device being adapted to fit more closely up against the bottom face of the seat than the preferred form so as to be rendered inconspicuous when applied to ornamental furniture. The tension device in this instance comprises a fixed member 30 and an adjustable member 31, the former being preferably formed from a pair of oppositely bowed plates 32 the ends of which are connected together in any preferred manher and are equipped with hooks 33 for engagement withthe eyes of the seat clamps. The adjustable member comprises a bridge piece 84: loosely mounted upon a threaded pin 35, the shankof this pin being engaged through the internal opening between the bowed sides of the fixed member and bearing against a; washer 36 which in turn bears against the adjacent edges of thesides and prevents the withdrawal of the head, A nut 37 is threaded upon the pin and ad- 7 vanced into engagement with the opposite edges of the sides so as to anchor the pin against wabbling. An adjusting nut 38 is threaded upon the pin in rear of the bridge piece and by advancing this nut, the bridge piece may be advanced upon the pin in the direction of the fixed member, thus drawing taut the brace elements and causing the rocking members of the seat clamps to be forced into tight engagement with the bot tom of the seat.

Fig. 6 shows a modified form of the clamp, the same comprising a stationary member 39 adapted to be secured to the edge of the chair seat by means of screws or similar connectors L0 and having a downwardly inclined portion 41 adapted to underlie the chair seat and provided adjacent its extremity with an opening 42 for the reception of the locking member. The locking member 43 is in this instance the same as the locking member already described and is formed from a single length of areaate material reduced adjacent one extremity, and this reduced portion bent to form an eye 44, this eye extending through the opening 42 in the stationary member and being adapted to engage the terminal of the tension means. Vith this form of clamp there is no projection on the working surface of the seat as with the preferred form, and it is evident that the clamp when the stationary member is mounted in the rabbet in the chair will be flush with the edge of the chair so that there will be no projections upon the chair edge so as to catch in the garments of the person occupying the chair.

What is claimed is j p A chair brace including clamps, each clamp comprising an attached plate provided with an oblique slotted extension, a

rocking plate bearing on said extension, a tongue formed upon the rocking plate and producing bearing shoulders engaging the oblique extension, said tongue projecting through the slot formed in the extension and bent to produce an eye, and a tensioning means engaged within said eye.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

' ALEXIS MARCHAND.

WVitnesses NORMAN LILLY, M. G. HoovER;

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

